Breadcrumb Trail Links

Stephen Harper should live in a shack, suggests South African bishop

Author of the article:

Douglas Todd

Publishing date:

April 27, 2011 • 3 minute read

Article content

Would it help Canada’s poor if Prime Minister Stephen Harperdecided to live in a shack?

That is what a visiting Methodist bishop from South Africa has publicly urged his own country’s president to do to draw attention to how those who are financially well-off often stigmatize those who struggle in abject poverty.

Stephen Harper should live in a shack, suggests South African bishopBack to video

Famed Methodist Bishop Paul Verryn, an outspoken Christian leader in South Africa, is visiting Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside this week to share ideas about how people in the two far-flung countries can better combat the scourge of poverty.

Verryn, whose own Central Methodist Church in Johannesburg provides a temporary shelter to more than 1,500 people at a time, is in Vancouver as guest of the Downtown Eastside’s First United Church, which houses roughly 350 homeless people each night.

“There is a profound prejudice against the poor” in both South Africa and Canada, Verryn said in a Monday interview, before his public talk on Wednesday at 6 p.m. at First United Church, 320 East Hastings.

Article Sidebar

Share this Story: Stephen Harper should live in a shack, suggests South African bishop

Trending

Advertisement

Story continues below

This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.

Article content continued

Even though anti-apartheid South Africans and many Canadians have devoted intense energy to fighting bigotry against people based on their race, gender or sexual orientation, Verryn believes prejudice against the poor continues to be worse.

That’s why Verryn urged politicians in his homeland and Canada to come up with “creative” ways to show solidarity and support for the disadvantaged, including by living among them, otherwise both nations may have to prepare for “retribution” in the form of social upheaval.

Many parallels exist between Metro Vancouver and Johannesburg, said Verryn.

Advertisement

Story continues below

This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.

Article content continued

One is that both cities are saddled with shocking contrasts between those living in “lavish luxury” and those surviving on virtually nothing.

The comfortable, said Verryn, typically stereotype the poor as “lazy, incompetent, corrupt or dirty;” often dismissing them as figurative “rubbish.”

In recent years Verryn has offered his large Johannesburg church as a temporary safe haven for up to 30,000 marginalized people, including those with AIDS, Zimbabwean refugees and victims of antiforeigner arson and machete attacks.

Advertisement

Story continues below

This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.

Article content continued

Because his Methodist congregation offered such sanctuary, it has on occasion been illegally raided by South African police.

As a key figure in the Truth and Reconciliation movement once led by Bishop Desmond Tutu, Verryn, 59, has preached against police brutality and conducted funerals for blacks and whites who died at the hands of covert government death squads.

Now Verryn’s main focus, as a Christian clergyman who takes seriously Jesus’ ministry to social outcasts, is on offering real hope to the stigmatized poor.

“Vancouver is not that far from Johannesburg in its psyche,” said Verryn, who was invited to the Downtown Eastside church by its United Church of Canada minister, Rev. Ric Matthews, who has South African roots.

Advertisement

Story continues below

This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.

Article content continued

Both Vancouver and Johannesburg, which are blessed with natural resources and visual beauty, are “hopelessly unprepared,” Verryn said, for the storm that could erupt if “appalling” gaps continue to exist between the wealthy and the poverty class.

The official end of apartheid has not yet resolved grave economic injustices in South Africa, he said, just as apologies and compensation from the Canadian government have not saved the country’s aboriginals, who make up 40 per cent of Downtown Eastside residents.

There is no valid economic reason that either South Africa or Canada need to have a large underclass, said Verryn.

Advertisement

Story continues below

This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.

Article content continued

Solutions could come if political leaders show the kind of inspiration that would encourage a “gigantic shift” in people’s preconceptions about poverty.

And those changes need to happen soon, at least in South Africa, or else he believes the poor will “justifiably” push back against the system that holds them down.

“The poor will not shut up and be happy with their condition forever.”

Apologizing for using what he called “religious” language, Verryn said the existence of huge numbers of people on the margins of the economy – in both South Africa and Canada – constitutes “a challenge to the soul of any nation.”

Article Sidebar

Share this Story: Stephen Harper should live in a shack, suggests South African bishop

Share this article in your social network

Share this Story: Stephen Harper should live in a shack, suggests South African bishop

Trending

Related Stories

This Week in Flyers

Article Comments

Comments

Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion and encourage all readers to share their views on our articles. Comments may take up to an hour for moderation before appearing on the site. We ask you to keep your comments relevant and respectful. We have enabled email notifications—you will now receive an email if you receive a reply to your comment, there is an update to a comment thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information and details on how to adjust your email settings.

Notice for the Postmedia Network

This website uses cookies to personalize your content (including ads), and allows us to analyze our traffic. Read more about cookies here. By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.